Monday, March 14, 2011

Egg Noodles....They Aren't Just for Soup Anymore

I have a habit of picking up ingredients that interest me, and then hoarding them in my pantry, never to be seen again.

Do you do this?

Am I the only one?

I am constantly finding random ingredients in my pantry that I had forgotten about, and generally, they go right back in, because I don’t have any ideas of what to do with them.

Specialty Pastas, Sauces, Condiments, etc. They all fit in this category.

Not long ago, I bought a package of Oakland Egg Noodles at The Market On The Square in Carlinville, because they came highly recommended by a co-worker. Admittedly, I normally throw egg noodles in a pot of soup.... or maybe a batch of chicken and noodles... but not much else.
I mean, that’s what they are FOR, right?

Right. And wrong.

While chatting up the owners of the Market, I learned that Nathan stir fries his noodles. Well, duh, of COURSE! My all time favorite Thai dish, Pad Sei Yew, is a mélange of chicken, spicy sauce, and rich, thick eggy noodles. Genius!

While rattling around this house this weekend, cleaning for Ty’s birthday party, I began cleaning out the fridge and pulled out a bunch of veggies that needed to be used. Some carrots, scallions, and a bunch of snow peas. Throw in some chicken and noodles and that was a satisfying lunch just waiting to happen!

Five Spice Chicken and Noodle Stir Fry
1/3 cup honey
3 TB soy sauce
1 TB Ginger
2 TB mirin
1-2 TB sriracha
1 TB orange juice concentrate
1-2 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp sesame oil
1 TB minced garlic

Boil water for noodles and start them cooking while preparing the stir fry. (only cook them about half way)
Mix marinade ingredients together and let chicken marinate at least a half hour.
Quickly stir fry the marinated chicken pieces until almost done.

Add in your vegetables, and stir fry another minute, then add in remaining marinade and cooked noodles and cook another minute to finish cooking the chicken and marinade.

Top with cilantro and serve.
**Notes: the noodles add great texture to the stir fry as well as make it more filling for those of us who can’t live on veggies alone! Letting the noodles finish cooking with the marinade helps them soak up a bunch of the yummy flavor of the five spice and sesame.

This is my submission for Presto Pasta Nights #205, hosted by Debbi Does Dinner

5 comments:

Jeanne said...

Yum! Looks good!
I totally wish I had a pantry. One day, once I own my own house, I am going to have the best pantry in the world.

Lyndsay Wells said...

Sounds really delicious. I love creating meals from the pantry :-)

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

This looks great! I don't usually stir fry my noodles either, what a great idea! Thanks for submitting to Presto Pasta Nights!

steph chows said...

OK so here's my random egg noodle recipe. Boil the noodles and put aside. Melt a little butter in a pan and then toss in noodles to coat, add in some cottage cheese and stir around till warm but not too long (it will get stringy. Sprinkle on paprika and salt and pepper and done! It's a hungarian sidedish, you can also make it using homemade spetzle. SO GOOD!

Bibberche said...

I would never think of stir-frying the egg noodles! Yes, I use them in soups, as a bed for goulash or paprikash, in dishes like Beef Stroganoff. I always have egg noodles in the pantry, and this would be another way to use them! Yay!